The VANG Household Waste (HHW) programme was developed to help municipalities take the steps needed towards a circular economy. The aim for the whole of the Netherlands is to be completely circular in 2050. In years to come, the focus will be on even better segregation of waste and improving the quality of individual waste streams.
Reducing
Up to 2020, the main aim of VANG (HHW) was to reduce the average amount of residual waste per resident to 100 kg. Municipalities embraced this ambition, which led to a rapid reduction in residual waste. The average for residual household waste is now 157 kg. Unfortunately, not all the segregated waste is suitable for recycling and some of it still had to be incinerated. On top of this, the EU has introduced a new standard: in 2035, 65 per cent of all our waste must be recycled. So it’s time to stir things up! We are heading from kilos of residual waste to a percentage of recyclable material as a portion of total household waste.
Segregation and improvement
To achieve this, the VANG HHW programme is focusing on two important aspects:
- Even better segregation of waste. Two-thirds of all household residual waste is made up of valuable, recyclable material. Excessive amounts of this end up in the incinerator.
- Improving the quality of the individual streams. Pollution and the presence of contaminants ensure that the individual streams, which are collected separately, are not as good as they could be.
How are we going to achieve this?
Over the past few years we have been working with pioneering municipalities in the field. We shared examples, made practical tools tools and knowledge documents, and carried out additional research. We also offer bespoke solutions by organising academies and VANG support, which includes personal 'made-to-measure' advice. This mixture of support gives municipalities tips on how to hit the targets of the programme.
More information
More information on VANG Household Waste (in Dutch*): Samen aan de slag met kwaliteitsverbetering - VANG Huishoudelijk afval
*Measures are drafted in Dutch, but may be translated with DeepL, Google Translate or Y; we are not responsible for any translation errors.
VANG HHW
The Dutch programme VANG Household Waste (HHW) was developed to help municipalities to take the steps needed towards a circular economy. VANG is an abbreviation of Van Afval Naar Grondstof (From Waste To Resources).